


To Go Gone

by skullstompin



Category: Re-Animator (1985)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 07:29:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2499611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skullstompin/pseuds/skullstompin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Herbert and Dan are forced into the confinements of one car overnight. You can probably guess what happens next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Go Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Though I tried to keep my ignorance to a minimum, I haven't actually seen past the first re-animator, so if something doesn't align very well with Bride of, please excuse me because I'm dumb.
> 
> Title comes from Animal Collective's Leaf House. Really doesn't have anything to do with this, I've just had it on repeat and needed a title.

"Fine, Herbert. Just another hour, or until we find a place, but if nothing comes up the second it turns eleven, I'm pulling over." 

Herbert didn't respond, simply twisted himself uncomfortably so that he wasn't giving Dan any kind of attention, and stared out of the window. It was nearly the 18th of an incredibly damp, incredibly depressing September, and the plan was to arrive in California for a scheduled interview with an interested (and wealthy) Medical Professional by the 20th. After a series of bad events and muddled confusion, Dan had backtracked them a few hours past the border of Wisconsin. All in all, they'd started the day closer to their destination than they'd ended it, a mistake Herbert enjoyed to remind Daniel of every twenty or so minutes. 

"I wish the rain would stop," he tried for conversation, hunching over the wheel and squinting through the windshield. "My eyes are killing from the strain."

"Just let _me_ drive," Herbert snapped, glancing briefly toward the other man before pouting at the rain trails in the window. 

"Dammit, Herbert! I'm not explaining myself again! Trust me, I'd love for someone else to take over for the night-" 

"Then-"

"Someone who doesn't drive like they've never even seen a stop sign before! I value my life, as well as the lives of other innocent people who have no desire to die." 

"DA-"

"The squirrels, Herbert! One second later and we both would be in the hospital! I'm not letting you drive, no matter how tired I am." And with the mere thought, Dan let out a stretched yawn and blinked tears of fatigue out of his eyes. 

Herbert gave an indignant huff and pulled himself tighter into the corner. Dan tried, for the fourth time that day, to turn on the radio but was aggressively slapped away from the dials. 

"Come oooon! If I have to deal with a silent treatment, at least give me some music. I'm about to pass out." 

"You act like _I'm_ to blame for your lack of sleep." Curt and hostile, but at least he was giving Dan what he asked for. 

"I didn't-" 

"Maybe if you hadn't spent the night with that goddamn floozy, you'd be able to keep your eyes open for a simple fifteen hours," he hissed, finally twisting himself to face Dan with a vicious glare. 

"Okay," he tried, a smidgin uncomfortably, "Let's talk about that." 

"Talk about what?"

"Your attitude in regards to my personal affairs."

"What about it?" he said rigidly.

"It's... for lack of a better word, a little strange." 

"Well how do you expect me to react to the idea, Daniel?" he sat up, ears warming to a delicate pink as he spoke. "Do you want me to congratulate you like your fraternity drinking buddies?" 

"That's not really-" 

"Oh, congratulations Daniel! I'm glad you had the opportunity to, yet again, stick your member inside of another living, willing human being! Did it moan? Did it scream your name or another name? How-" 

"Alright, ALRIGHT," he cut in, fingers tightened uncomfortably around the wheel, his turn to flush. "I just don't get why you insist on concerning yourself with my business, specifically when it gets you so upset."

"Perhaps I'd stop if you stopped pestering me with mine," he answered quietly, turning back to face the front. 

"What are you talking about? Everything you DO involves me, whether I like it or not, and that's all thanks to you!"

"No, not everything." 

"What, do you have a secret, alternative lifestyle I'm accidentally destroying? Sorry for ruining your chance at popularity then, West. Boy, I try." 

Herbert eyed him pensively, tugging the cuff of his wrist. "You know very well what you've concerned yourself with constantly these past months, Daniel." 

Ah. That. It had been a fair amount of time since Dan had first been subjected to the benefits of Herbert's re-agent (weakened, of course. It's just a weak solution), and it seemed like an even longer time since Herbert had finally shaken through the final stages of his withdrawal. Dan still doubted him when he'd claimed he was done with injections, so he kept a daily check of his tracks. 

"That's way different." 

"Oh," Herbert smiled, narrowing his eyes cynically as he clapped his hands together. "Do try!" 

"Because it's for you own good! You were addicted! I have an obligation, as your only friend, to keep you from injecting yourself with that shit." 

"And sex is different?" 

Dan huffed an abrupt laugh. "I can't believe this." 

"Your thirst for sex is quite persistent. One might consider it to be an addiction?" 

Dan gave another irritated hoot. 

" _As a friend_ , I express concern." 

"Oh yeah?" a grin was wide across his face, and though it wasn't 100% genuine, it was fond. "How should my sex life concern you? Is there some kind of a-" 

"What if you contracted an STD? What if you forgot protection, or you broke said protection and impragnated someone? You'd be obligated for the rest of your life, knowing your sense of morality. Then where would I be?" 

"Then you'd be off somewhere with someone else, finally leaving me alone with my new family for your scientific studies and long deserved fame." 

"Ridiculous," Herbert responded flatly. "You're irreplaceable." 

Dan wasn't sure how far he'd let his sanity go when he felt a warm wave of _somethingpossiblyhappiness_ coil through his stomach at the comment. He smiled stupidly for a few minutes, listening to the murmur of the rain against the car before he fell into another full yawn. "May I please turn on some music? Just for a little while?" he asked softly, his voice stressed with rough exhaustion. Herbert nodded and let his head fall against the window as soft techno reverberated around the air.

\---

He knew he had said eleven, but something kept him on until midnight, even after Herbert had fallen asleep, ending them somewhere on the outskirts of South Dakota by the time he finally pulled over. There hadn't been much by means of Hotels, but the car would be spacious and comfortable enough for one night. 

Herbert had curled himself inside of his duster, facing the driver's side when the glass had gotten too cold against his forehead, and scrunched so that his legs were somehow hidden by the small length of material. Dan smiled tiredly at this, even going as far as leaning over to take his drooping glasses off of his face and tug the coat up over his shoulders. He could be cute when he wasn't killing and re-animating people or being a cynical little shit, and Dan was reminded of what he'd said earlier. It was strange, how much things had changed between them. After the events in Arkham, Dan had even gone far enough to hate the other man, to blame him for what had happened to his future. To Megan. Even through the healed wounds, Dan felt an empty ache in the pit of his stomach at the mere brush of thought, and had to shake himself away from the memories before emotions got the best of him. But things had changed. Right now he was here, with Herbert, and no matter how much he wished things had turned out differently, this was the point it had all come to. 

He exhaled heavily and tilted the seat to its last notch before folding his arms behind his head. He wasn't really expecting to sleep very well, but it had still been a long night and he dropped off almost immediately. At least the rain could be lulling. 

\--- 

He awoke abruptly to the sound of a shattering yelp. He started in horror, sitting up with a shout himself, as every worst possibly scenario associated with Herbert's scream came to mind. He blinked in the pitch black, heart rate leveling back to relative normalcy as he recollected his thoughts. A moment of nothing but quickened breaths before he heard the cry again, shockingly loud in the confinements of the car, and Dan fumbled his way over to the passenger area (banging his head painfully against the roof in the process) and groped around for the small, quivering body.

"Herbert!" he hissed, barely recognizing the other man's face in the darkness as he found his shoulders and shook him roughly against the seat. 

"DAN-" he shouted, wrenching his eyes open at the same moment. He lay there quietly for a moment, trembling slightly in Dan's hold as he took in the scene. "What... happened to the lights?" he asked slowly, and then scrunched his nose and narrowed his eyes a bit. "Did you take my glasses?" 

Dan gave a nervous titter as he slid his hands down Herbert's shoulders. "Yeah, sorry. Only after you'd fallen asleep. I didn't want you breaking them." His hands continued to smooth down the smaller frame, brushing off of his elbows and ending on his waist. Herbert was still breathing a bit erratically, and Dan tried to pet the stress out of his body.

"Oh," he said oddly. He looked like he didn't want the hands on him, but it was the first time he had stayed still long enough for any kind of prolonged physical contact, lest of all something as demeaning as comfort. Dan wondered, absentmindedly tracing the pad of his thumb along his waist and to his hips, how long it had been since Herbert had experienced any kind of physical contact. A blush creeped over his collar as the smaller man's body responded by moving into his touches. There was no doubt he'd never experienced sex, with how abrupt and uncomfortable and goddamn scientific he was in his retorts to the idea, but had he ever experienced anything physically stimulating from another person _at all_? Leaning in a little closer, Dan continued to explore Herbert's body, traveling a wider range every time he dared a little deeper. Herbert was obviously still sleepy, and without his glasses he looked quite... different. Younger. Less proud and less intimidating. Softer. His eyes were half lidded and his lips were parted. His hips were moving slightly, shifting with the areas Dan was touching, and his breathing was becoming audibly evident with every passing second. Dan reached around the back of his waist, his own breath a little hitched, felt where his shirt had gotten tousled out of its usual security underneath his belt, and his stomach dipped a bit as the reality of the situation began to filter its way back through to him. The moment he touched flesh, this couldn't be excused as innocent anymore. Something was developing there, in the precarious hours of early morning, and if he didn't stop now, he'd have to force himself to look and recognize what it was. With an unconvincing, breathy exhale he began to sit himself back on his haunches.

Herbert gripped onto his wrist as he tried to pull away, "No." He tugged, bringing Dan's hand to his waist with the determined insistence of someone who'd made up his mind years ago. Dan closed his eyes, and on an exhale, lowered himself back into that tight space of foreign intimacy. He burrowed underneath his shirt this time, finally touching the heated skin on his waist and that was it. Everything else was base.

Dan pulled Herbert closer by his hips, groped his way up the other man's tiny frame and lifted his shirt with it. Herbert made a sweet, soft sound when Dan grazed his nipple and that was enough validation for Dan to kiss his neck; wet, hot, teeth grazing and demanding as Herbert arched and shuttered beneath him. Dan shifted his way between Herbert's legs, rocking into him at an erratic pace as the smaller man dug his fingers into his hair and whimpered like he'd never fucked before (ah, right). Dan slid the pad of his thumb along his bottom lip, feeling hazy and powerful and more excited than he'd been for a long time. It wasn't like he suffered through long bouts of abstinence, but it was never drawn out like this. He captured the other man's lips in his own at last, grinding desperately and deepening their kiss with every gasp Herbert gave in response. Dan slid his right hand down the length of his body and teased his nipple with the left. Herbert bit his tongue back. 

"Ow," he pulled back, laughing, "Fuck. Was that necessary?" 

Herbert didn't respond at first, just stared up at him wide-eyed, lips parted and skin an extraordinary shade of flushed. When he did speak, his voice was cracked, "Get... closer to me." 

Dan blinked. It must have been the first time Herbert had something so vulnerable to anyone. He cupped his chin, tilted his face so that he could get a better look into his eyes, then his lips, shiny, panting, bitten. A shock of pleasure quaked his body when Herbert slid a timid hand to cup him through his pants. "Please," he whispered.

He buried his face into Herbert's neck again, acquiescing to the other man's demands as always, and slid his pants past his erection. Herbert thrust into his hand, cooing and shivering and wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. Dan gave a groan of frustration, still restricted and uncomfortable inside of his pants, though he didn't take his hands off of Herbert to relieve himself. There was too much of the other man he needed to be pressed into, against, inside of. Shit, he was getting ahead of himself. Quick, desperate breaths. Herbert's lips were soft when he pressed against them again. He could actually _feel_ the noises he was making, and he whimpered _every single time_ Dan thrust into him.

"God, Herbert." The other man arched and moaned when called by name, and something about the way he shifted even further into Dan's erect cock caught his breath. He'd viewed Herbert as more of an option than he ever consciously admitted, but he'd never thought his body could feel so impossibly good beneath his own. He sucked on Herbert's top lip, playing it a bit between his teeth and ran his hands all along the open skin of his torso greedily, raising goosebumps and making the other grow rigid under the attention. His legs tightened and the rocking of his hips against Dan's own erection became choppy. "Dan. Dan. Dan," his voice wobbled, increasing in volume as he drew closer. Heavy, desperate grinding and even rougher hands sliding across his skin. Dan teased at the sensitivity of his nipples just to hear him moan, and he shuddered a last time, coming with a sharp shout. Daniel thrust into him harder, groaning and wrapping an arm around his lower back, moving him into the perfect position before grinding into his own climax. He clung Herbert through it, face burning as the realization that he was coming into his pants like a child, solidified with every last, ragged stutter of his hips. 

He lay on top of him a little too long, grip loosening as silence grew louder with every heartbeat.

Just to alleviate the silence, wheezed a chuckle into the shell of Herbert's ear, "You're really, uh, tiny."

"Oh," Herbert said again, sounded more like the response to a discovery than his remark, and shook his head slightly before wiggling into a more assertive sitting position. He shrugged out of Dan's touch but made a small, breathy huff when Dan finally did move away and leaned back into his own seat. A heavy moment of further silence and the drumming of raindrops before he spoke again, quiet and edged with exhaustion, "I should probably-"

"Erm' yeah. I'm actually glad it's raining." 

He opened the car door without a further comment. A gust of chill and the sound of heavy raindrops cut into the stagnant air as Herbert clambered out of the passenger seat and into the early morning.

Dan sighed heavily, laying himself out across the front seat and using his arm as a head rest. He squeezed his eyes together and tried to will the discomfort and unsettling feeling out of his consciousness. He could be so stupid with the fucking worst judgement and reactions. Fuck. Just sleep.

After about six minutes on his own, the car door creaked open again and Herbert climbed back into the passenger seat, dripping and shivering as he bundled himself into his coat. "Daniel?" he asked once he'd settled himself a bit. 

Dan didn't respond. Pretended to sleep. 

More minutes of furious silence and then, "If we spend another night in this car, I will kill a rat and bring it back inside of this thing." 

Dan couldn't help his abrupt laugh.


End file.
